Yamabuki Otome
is a beautiful flower ayakashi and Rihan Nura's first wife. It is said that her support motivated Rihan to bring the Nura Clan to its Golden Age. Appearance Yamabuki is a very beautiful pale-skinned woman with long black hair that has square bangs and black eyes. She is most frequently seen wearing a kimono. Personality Yamabuki is a soft-hearted and friendly woman who loves humankind, just like Rihan Nura. Yamabuki is very kind to children, choosing to teach at a temple school, and can be just as naive as her students (as evidenced by her not realizing that Kawanishi was in love with her and being unaware that Karasu Tengu was following her around disguised as a dog). History About 300 Years Ago While alive, Yamabuki was the daughter of a samurai household. Though she was schooled in all manner of music, literature and culture, she died young and became a yūrei (spirit). After death, she lost track of the name she had possessed while alive and dwelt in her family's old household, which had become a yōkai mansion. There, Rihan met and fell in love with her and, as she didn't know her own name, he gave her the name "Yamabuki Otome" (yamabuki maiden) because her beauty was like that of the yamabuki flowers which bloomed behind the mansion. During the Edo period, after marrying Rihan, she worked as a teacher for human children at a terakoya (temple school) in the Greater Tokyo area. As a result of Hagoromo Gitsune's curse on Nurarihyon, Yamabuki and Rihan were unable to have children throughout their 50-year long marriage. With the Nura Clan's board members whispering about her seeming inability to conceive, Yamabuki disappeared, leaving behind a note for Rihan which contained a famous Japanese poem lamenting her inability to bear any children for him. She is presumed to have died at some point afterward. 8 Years Ago Eight years ago, Abe no Seimei and Sanmoto Gorōzaemon used her in a plan to take revenge on Rihan. She was revived in the form of a child to become Hagoromo Gitsune's host, her memories falsified. She was then sent to Rihan with a subliminal order to kill him upon hearing the poem she had once left him. When he recited it, she stabbed him through the chest with Maō's Hammer and regained her memories. Despairing over having killed the man she loved, she pulled inward and Hagoromo Gitsune was able to take full control of her body. Synopsis Kyōto Arc Once the Nue has been born and is still in its infant stage, Hagoromo Gitsune's memories from the past thousand years resurface. Included among them are the real Yamabuki Otome's memories, and Hagoromo Gitsune suddenly finds herself having to fight for control of the host body. She is ultimately expelled after being stabbed by Nenekirimaru, Yamabuki Otome's consciousness returning to the surface at last. When the Nue launches an attack against Rikuo, Yamabuki Otome moves to shield him despite her injuries. After the Nue has returned to hell, Nurarihyon notes that Hagoromo Gitsune's host body greatly resembles Yamabuki Otome, Rihan's first wife. The woman herself speaks up, and Nurarihyon realizes that she is, in fact, the real Yamabuki Otome. She recounts what happened eight years prior and then asks to get a better look at Rikuo. She comments that if she had been able to give Rihan a child, she imagines it would be just like Rikuo. She then falls unconscious and her body is taken by the remaining Kyoto Yōkai as a hopeful symbol of Hagoromo Gitsune's return. Category:Female Category:Yokai